Disambiguating vision with sound

Abstract

An important task for the visual system is to identify and segregate objects from background. Figure-ground illusions, such as Edgar Rubin's bistable 'vase-faces illusion'¹, make the point clearly: we see either a central vase or lateral faces, alternating spontaneously, but never both images simultaneously. The border is perceptually assigned to either faces or vase, which become figure, the other shapeless background². The stochastic alternation between figure and ground probably reflects mutual inhibitory processes that ensure a single perceptual outcome³. Which shape dominates perception depends on many factors, such as size, symmetry, convexity, enclosure, and so on, as well as attention and intention⁴. Here we show that the assignment of the visual border can be strongly influenced by auditory input, far more than is possible by voluntary intention. VIDEO ABSTRACT.